The name Genghis Khan often conjures the image of a relentless, bloodthirsty barbarian on horseback leading a ruthless band of nomadic warriors in the looting of the civilized world. But the surprising truth is that Genghis Khan was a visionary leader whose conquests joined backward Europe with the flourishing cultures of Asia to trigger a global awakening, an unprecedented explosion of technologies, trade, and ideas.
From the vast empire Mongolians built after Ghenghis Khan united them in the 13th century- which at its height stretched from the pacific Ocean to the Black Sea- to periods under Chinese and then Soviet control to today when the Buddhist traditions that were once repressed are flourishing and the country is struggling to implement economic reforms.
In Pirates and Privateers Tom Bowling offers a lively history of piracy, from ancient times through the -privateers- such as Morgan, with their Letters of Marque (an early example of State-sponsored terrorism), to the still real and flourishing threat of contemporary pirates that patrol the less well-regulated shipping lanes of the world today.